Telemarketing is one of the most infamous banes of owning a phone. In other words, those unsolicited calls from companies trying to sell you something.
In Finland this is done mainly by the biggest telephone and internet service providers. They usually are surprisingly nice and generally do not resort to any sort of dirty tactics. If you just say at the beginning of the call that you are not interested, they usually just politely say that that's fine, they say some polite farewell, and end the call there. I suppose that because these are some of the biggest companies in Finland, they have a reputation to maintain, and they don't really need to be aggressive about it, and thus the telemarketers are instructed to be polite and immediately back off if the person is not interested.
Not all telemarketers are that polite and mindful, though. Especially with smaller companies, which are often subsidiaries of some foreign company, they can be much more persistent. Rather than simply politely accept that you are not interested, they will start asking why you aren't interested. They'll ask for an explanation, they will ask what the problem is, they will ask all kinds of questions, and be really persistent about it.
Some companies, especially in some countries (like the United States) can be really obnoxious about it. For example, in some companies the telemarketers will be forbidden from ever hanging up on a potential customer until either the deal is done, or the potential customer hangs up on their end. As long as the person on the phone has not hung up, the telemarketer will keep pushing the product or service, constantly, no matter how long it takes, and will constantly ask questions.
This technique takes advantage of the fact that many people are not keen on just hanging up on someone who is talking to them on the phone, as they feel it would be rude. Obviously some people will have no problem, especially with such obnoxious telemarketers, but likewise many people will not, especially the elderly who have been raised to be polite. The instinct to not hang up on someone who is talking to them, to be so rude, can be really strong.
This, of course, in turn induces these people (especially the elderly) to eventually give in and just purchase the thing, even if they don't really need it, or even can't really afford it.
I think this kind of predatory telemarketing is just despicable, since it's taking advantage of people who may not be strong-willed or prepared. Especially the elderly can easily fall victim to these tactics.
In Finland this is done mainly by the biggest telephone and internet service providers. They usually are surprisingly nice and generally do not resort to any sort of dirty tactics. If you just say at the beginning of the call that you are not interested, they usually just politely say that that's fine, they say some polite farewell, and end the call there. I suppose that because these are some of the biggest companies in Finland, they have a reputation to maintain, and they don't really need to be aggressive about it, and thus the telemarketers are instructed to be polite and immediately back off if the person is not interested.
Not all telemarketers are that polite and mindful, though. Especially with smaller companies, which are often subsidiaries of some foreign company, they can be much more persistent. Rather than simply politely accept that you are not interested, they will start asking why you aren't interested. They'll ask for an explanation, they will ask what the problem is, they will ask all kinds of questions, and be really persistent about it.
Some companies, especially in some countries (like the United States) can be really obnoxious about it. For example, in some companies the telemarketers will be forbidden from ever hanging up on a potential customer until either the deal is done, or the potential customer hangs up on their end. As long as the person on the phone has not hung up, the telemarketer will keep pushing the product or service, constantly, no matter how long it takes, and will constantly ask questions.
This technique takes advantage of the fact that many people are not keen on just hanging up on someone who is talking to them on the phone, as they feel it would be rude. Obviously some people will have no problem, especially with such obnoxious telemarketers, but likewise many people will not, especially the elderly who have been raised to be polite. The instinct to not hang up on someone who is talking to them, to be so rude, can be really strong.
This, of course, in turn induces these people (especially the elderly) to eventually give in and just purchase the thing, even if they don't really need it, or even can't really afford it.
I think this kind of predatory telemarketing is just despicable, since it's taking advantage of people who may not be strong-willed or prepared. Especially the elderly can easily fall victim to these tactics.
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